Public art panel says fund more

Spending tax money on art would bring tourists to Athens and create jobs, according to a public art task force appointed by Mayor Heidi Davison.

The task force proposed earmarking 1 percent of the Athens-Clarke government's spending on construction to buy art for new public buildings.

The set-aside funds would foster a cultural identity for Athens and bring visitors - and their wallets - to the city, said the task force's chairwoman, Marilyn Wolf-Ragatz, a retired public school teacher and University of Georgia art instructor.

Tourism is big business in Athens, but it's driven mainly by the UGA football team, which brings more than 100,000 people to town six or seven weekends a year.

"We need business after the Bulldog fans have left," Wolf-Ragatz said.

The task force took an inventory of public art in Athens - finding more than 100 pieces - and studied public art programs in a dozen other cities, such as Atlanta; Austin, Texas; and Chapel Hill, N.C.

One example of art's economic development potential is Grand Rapids, Mich., Wolf-Ragatz said. That city puts up a $250,000 arts prize each year and lets people vote on the winner. Last year's two-week exhibition drew 200,000 attendees who spent $5 million to $7 million, according to USA Today.

Besides wooing tourists, spending on public art also would create jobs for artists, designers and fabricators, and improve the quality of life for residents, Wolf-Ragatz said.

The 1 percent earmark would vary from year to year, depending on how much the county government spent on construction.

If the policy were in place this year, the government would be spending $17,000 on art, Athens-Clarke Manager Alan Reddish said.

The Athens-Clarke Commission ultimately would decide how much to spend on art, where to put it, what is appropriate and what art to buy, but the task force proposed creating an Athens Cultural Affairs Commission made up of nine volunteers with expertise in art, architecture, music, theater or literature.

The cultural affairs commission would advise the county commission, seek out grants and private donations to supplement tax funding, organize community events and conduct outreach and education programs. It also would identify projects on a list up for a vote in November that could benefit from art, in addition to the $400,000 already set aside for art in the proposed SPLOST.

Commissioners spoke favorably about the proposals at a Tuesday work session and appear poised to approve them at their Dec. 7 meeting.

"I don't think there's any dispute that public art is an economic development driver," Commissioner Alice Kinman said. "All we need is a little money to pull it all together."

Public art at government buildings would help promote Athens' art scene, Commissioner Ed Robinson said.

"The buildings we're building should represent what this town is, and it's an arts town," Robinson said.